Looking to stay healthy and track your fitness without breaking the bank? There are a handful of fitness trackers from various companies that fit the bill, depending on which features you’re willing to give up to get to that sub-$100 price point. Here’s a look at the best fitness trackers 2018 has to offer, with our recommendation ranked first.
Xiaomi Mi Band
The Xiaomi Mi Band 3 offers a water-resistant fitness tracker with a heartrate monitor, notification display, and sleep monitoring with sedentary reminders for less than $35. That includes a seven-day battery life that won’t require you to take the band off of your wrist every night like some trackers. The global version of this band will debut in September, and you can expect to pay about $35 for it on shopping sites like Amazon.
Fitbit Flex 2
If you want to go with a name that’s more familiar, the Fitbit Flex 2 is available and features many of the same aspects as the Mi Band 3. It’s waterproof, but it doesn’t have a traditional display which is a mark against it. You can track your heart rate, and the device needs to be charged about every four to five days. Fitbit offers many better products at a higher price point like the Charge 3 and the Versa, but if you have to stay under $100 to get the most out of your credit card purchase, this is the best you can get from Fitbit. </a>
Huawei Band 2 Pro
The Huawei Band 2 Pro has a lot of features in a tiny package that will cost you about $70. It’s the only fitness tracker in this price range to feature GPS, a heart rate sensor, and sleep tracking. The only downside of this fitness tracker is that it must be charged more frequently than the others on this list, only lasting about three days per charge. It also has a very dim display that can be hard to read in the sunlight, making it not great for monitoring outside activities.
Garmin Vivofit 3
If you’re looking for a fitness tracker with the longest battery life, then look no further than the Garmin Vivofit 3. It is powered by a traditional watch battery that is replaceable and Garmin guarantees up to 1+ year of battery life for the device. It is waterproof and features sleep insights as well as automatic recognition of certain activities like biking, swimming, or running.
Honor Band 3
The Honor Band 3 is attempting to compete with the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 in budget fitness trackers, clocking in at around $35. It offers an OLED touchscreen with a heart rate sensor, step tracking, and sleep monitoring, but the lackluster app experience makes the device experience feel less than desirable. Still, that’s a lot of sensors available on a $35 fitness device no matter how bad the app itself can be.
Our pick for the best from the list is the Xiaomi Mi Band 3, followed by the Huawei Band 2 Pro. Each of these fitness trackers is below $100, so you can buy multiples and get the whole family exercising together.
